Donna Meagle is a fictional character in the NBC

NBC

The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

 comedy Parks and Recreation

Parks and Recreation

Parks and Recreation is an American comedy television series on NBC that focuses on Leslie Knope , a mid-level bureaucrat in the parks department of Pawnee, a fictional town in Indiana. Created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur, the series debuted on April 9, 2009; it has run for three seasons and...

. She is portrayed by Retta Sirleaf

Retta (comedian)

Retta Sirleaf, better known simply as Retta, is an American stand-up comedian and actress, who is currently appearing as Donna Meagle on the NBC comedy series Parks and Recreation...

 and has appeared in the show since the pilot

Pilot (Parks and Recreation)

"Pilot" is the first episode of the first season of the American comedy television series Parks and Recreation. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on April 9, 2009. The episode was written by series co-creators Michael Schur and Greg Daniels, and directed by Daniels...

. For the first two seasons of the show she appeared as a recurring character; she became a regular in the third season.

Background

Donna (Retta Sirleaf

Retta (comedian)

Retta Sirleaf, better known simply as Retta, is an American stand-up comedian and actress, who is currently appearing as Donna Meagle on the NBC comedy series Parks and Recreation...

) is an employee of the Parks and Recreation Department. Having previously been dismissive of her coworkers, she is now accepting of them. She once donated money to David Duke

David Duke

David Ernest Duke is a former Grand Wizard of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan an American activist and writer, and former Republican Louisiana State Representative. He was also a former candidate in the Republican presidential primaries in 1992, and in the Democratic presidential primaries in...

, a former Grand Wizard of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan

Ku Klux Klan

Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...

 (ironically, due to her opposition towards the group), because she received a phone call promising lower taxes. She is also sought after sexually by South American men, due to her race

African American

African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...

 and physical appearance, something that doesn't surprise her, saying that she "did very well" in South America when she visited. Donna loves her car, a Mercedes-Benz M-Class

Mercedes-Benz M-Class

The Mercedes-Benz M-Class is a luxury mid-size sport utility vehicle , first offered in 1997 as a 1998 model, and built by the German automaker Mercedes-Benz. Gradually, the M-Class became a sales success in the United States and Mexico. In terms of size, it is slotted in between the smaller...

 SUV.

Personality

She can sometimes be selfish. For example, on a hunting trip she does not particularly care about her boss Ron getting accidentally shot but becomes distraught when Tom inadvertently shoots out the windows of her car. She is affectionate towards Tom, calling him her "sweet little prince." She has become friends with Ann Perkins as she is seen giving her dating advice several times.

Critical reception

During a stand-up comedy performance at the University of Illinois at Springfield

University of Illinois at Springfield

The University of Illinois at Springfield is a public university in Springfield, Illinois. The University was established in 1969 as Sangamon State University by the Illinois General Assembly and became a part of the University of Illinois system on July 1, 1995.The University of Illinois at...

, Retta said the acting job on the show was stressful as it was unclear how long the show would stay on the air. Alan Sepinwall, television columnist with The Star-Ledger

The Star-Ledger

The Star-Ledger is the largest circulated newspaper in the U.S. state of New Jersey and is based in Newark. It is a sister paper to The Jersey Journal of Jersey City, The Times of Trenton and the Staten Island Advance, all of which are owned by Advance Publications.The Newark Star-Ledgers daily...

, said that season two episodes of Parks and Recreation have afforded more personality and funnier jokes to Donna and other minor characters.